Best Places14812, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14812, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
14812 ranks 10,959th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 14812
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
14812's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14812 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 14812 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 14812
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14812 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,125, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 14812's effective rate of 1.93%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 14812
14812 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 14812.
Who works in 14812, and how
Work in 14812 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 14812
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 14812.
What the weather is like in 14812, month by month
14812 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 14812
The nearest airport, Elmira/Corning Regional, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 182 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14812
Schools across 14812 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gardner Road Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Big Flats SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Calvin U Smith Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Corning-painted Post Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Horseheads Intermediate SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Horseheads Senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Corning-painted Post High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Watkins Glen Central High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 14812 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14812 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 14812 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 14812
Is 14812 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14812 ranks 10,959th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, tree cover, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 14812 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,121. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $77,125 median income, cost of living beats 41% of zip codes.
Is 14812 safe?
Yes, 14812 is safer than 100% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $112 per resident a year.
Compare 14812 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14812. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14812 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
14812 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14812: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14812: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14812: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14812: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14812 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.